European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has taken over in recent months the investigation of Belgian prosecutors who were investigating Ursula von der Leyen for „interference in public functions, deletion of text messages, corruption, and conflict of interest.”
EPPO prosecutors are investigating how the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, negotiated with Pfizer’s CEO, Albert Bourla, the purchase of anti-Covid vaccines in the EU, but no one has yet been charged in connection with this case, according to legal documents consulted by Politico.
A spokesperson for the Liège Prosecutor's Office confirmed the takeover of the investigation from Belgium by EPPO.
The investigation was initially opened by the judicial authorities in the Belgian city of Liège at the beginning of 2023, following a criminal complaint filed by a local lobbyist, Frédéric Baldan. Subsequently, the governments of Hungary and Poland filed complaints against the Commission.
Baldan's complaint focused on an alleged exchange of text messages between von der Leyen and Pfizer's CEO, Albert Bourla, in the period leading up to the conclusion of the EU's largest vaccine agreement, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, a case dubbed by the press as "Pfizergate."
The New York Times, which first revealed the exchange of texts, has filed a separate lawsuit against the European Commission after the institution refused to disclose the content of the messages following a request for access to documents.
A Triumph Turned into a Nightmare
The fact that the European Public Prosecutor's Office is now investigating this case could bring more attention to the role played by von der Leyen in signing the mega-agreement for vaccines estimated at over 20 billion euros.
EPPO conducts pan-European investigations into financial crimes and, theoretically, could seize phones and other materials considered relevant from the Commission's offices or from other countries in Europe, such as Germany, Ursula von der Leyen's home country.
This phase of the investigation comes at a delicate moment for von der Leyen, who is heading towards a second term at the helm of the European Commission. So far, the Commission has refused to disclose the content of the messages and has not even accepted to confirm their existence.
The agreement negotiated in 2021, in the midst of the pandemic, was initially seen as a triumph for Ursula von der Leyen. However, the huge quantity of vaccines purchased since then has raised numerous questions. Vaccines worth at least four billion euros were destroyed due to non-use, according to disclosures made at the end of last year by Politico. The contract with Pfizer was renegotiated.
Several transparency organizations and some political opponents have tried to put pressure on the Commission to bring the case to debate, but von der Leyen has so far avoided addressing it. In response to a direct question posed by Politico about the respective text messages, von der Leyen limited herself to stating: "Everything necessary about this has been said and presented. And we will wait for the results."
In 2022, EPPO announced that it is investigating in a general manner the purchase of anti-Covid vaccines in the EU, but now it is the first time that the European Public Prosecutor's Office is directly mentioned in Pfizergate.
The case currently under review by EPPO addresses various legal, political, and financial aspects - and intersects with lawsuits that the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has brought against Hungary and Poland.
The government in Budapest, led by Viktor Orbán, a staunch opponent of von der Leyen, lodged a complaint regarding her role in the Pfizer negotiations, said two sources familiar with the case.
Poland also filed a complaint in November last year, confirmed a government spokesperson in Warsaw. However, after Donald Tusk won the elections, "the new government is working to withdraw Poland from these procedures," the spokesperson mentioned.
The details of the case are not public, but Politico sources claim that Hungary and Poland focused their complaints on the same exchange of messages between von der Leyen and Pfizer's CEO.
Both states have been sued by Pfizer for not paying for vaccine doses after deliveries were halted, citing surplus and financial pressure from the war in Ukraine.
Kovesi Promised a 100% Independent Investigation
Laura Codruţa Kovesi confirmed exclusively for SpotMedia.ro that the European-level investigation is ongoing. "Our communication policy is not to discuss specific cases until certain moments of the investigation when we can make certain things public," she also said.
The EPPO chief promised an "evidence-based" investigation regardless of the level it reaches, even if it involves the head of the European Commission: "As serious and 100% independent as possible. EPPO is independent in its relationship with the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council, it is independent of national authorities. But this independence is also effective in how the European Public Prosecutor's Office works."
The purchase of anti-Covid vaccines is also the subject of an investigation in Romania. The National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) is investigating a damage of over 1 billion euros, and the accusations in the case are abuse of office with extremely serious consequences and complicity in abuse of office. DNA prosecutors have requested the lifting of immunity in the case for three former members of the Government, including former Prime Minister Florin Cîțu.